Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
Stockholm, Sweden’s prolific quartet of atmospheric doom and post-metal magnificence, THE MOTH GATHERER, unveils an official video connected to their upcoming album release.
“The Drone Kingdom” is one of five amazing songs on the band’s upcoming album, ‘Esoteric Oppression‘, due to be released February 22nd from Agonia Records. The song is a lengthy exploration of periodic aggression and melodic melancholy, each delivered in waves of expressive, emotionally charged audio. It is the second single to be shared from the imminent release after “Motionless In Oceania“, find both tracks streaming below.
The recording process for ‘Esoteric Oppression‘ took place within several studios, with guitars, bass, and drums tracked at Studio Underjord with Joona Hassinen, who later mixed the entire album. Electronics and vocals were recorded at The Lifestream Studio, while Magnus Lindberg (Cult Of Luna) mastered the album at Redmount Studios with production assistance by THE MOTH GATHERER.
The band shared the following about the album:
“We’ve put our very fabric into it. Its creation has been a path paved with distress and frustration; one that has left us totally exhausted. But all our effort shows in the music and we can now say that it was worth the turmoil. We’re extremely proud to present Esoteric Oppression to you all. We hope you love it as much as we do”.
The ‘Esoteric Oppression‘ album marks some rather significant changes and transformations within THE MOTH GATHERER. Perhaps most notable is the departure of band co-founder Alex Stjernfeldt, who, alongside Victor Wegeborn, began the project as a duo in 2008. In the years since, THE MOTH GATHERER evolved, embraced new members, and expanded its sound over the course of three previous releases: ‘A Bright Celestial Light’ (2010), ‘The Earth Is The Sky’ (2015), and ‘The Comfortable Low’ EP (2017).
Though Alex Stjernfeldt has left the band, he participated in writing lyrics for the new album and bass duties have been taken over by Victor, who also handles vocals, guitars, and electronics. Dan Hemgren has been announced as the group’s new bassist, with guitarist Ronny Westphal and drummer Svante Karlsson completing the current line up of musicians within THE MOTH GATHERER.
‘Esoteric Oppression‘ will be released via Agonia Records on February 22nd; available formats are detailed below with pre-order active now at this LINK.
Tracklist:
01. The Drone Kingdom
02. Motionless In Oceania
03. Utopia
04. The Failure Design
05. Phosphorescent Blight
Formats:
– Regular CD
– Gold Slipcase CD + patch
– Black LP
– Gold LP
– Digital
